From the publication of Neil Gunn’s first novel in 1926, he
became an increasingly prominent figure in Scottish arts and
Nationalist politics. Indeed, the two went hand-in-hand. The
Scottish Renaissance headed by Hugh MacDiarmid in the 1920s, with
which Gunn was associated, was a drive towards cultural renewal
that could only be achieved through a heightened sense of national
identity. Nevertheless, Gunn’s concern with Scottish Nationalism
was accompanied by a deep commitment to the distinct identity of
the Highlands. Gunn’s use of Highland landscape and culture in his
fiction challenged stereotypes based on the Celtic melodrama made
popular by writers such as William Sharp (“Fiona MacLeod”), and the
“…

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